Students at Camosun College will be able to live on campus by the fall of 2027, when a new student residence is expected to be completed.
The $154.7-million project was announced Wednesday, and will provide 423 beds for students in a six-storey building on the Lansdowne campus.
The province will provide the bulk of funding — $151.7 million — while the college kicks in $3 million.
Olivia Bult, women’s director for the Camosun College Student Society, said the residence will relieve some of the pressure for students to find accommodation in a tight rental market.
“It’s quite the challenge to find affordable housing,” she said. “The competition is high. I’ve been to places where I know that they’ve met with 10 other people for one apartment.”
Living on campus can also provide a real sense of community for students, said Bult.
Another benefit is that creating student housing will free up spaces in the rental market in Greater Victoria, by taking some students out of the mix, she said. “It’s amazing news, very exciting.”
Camosun president Lane Trotter said the college is “incredibly grateful” to the provincial government for helping it to achieve its priority of affordable, on-campus student housing, which brings social, academic and personal benefits, including greater retention rates for the college.
The project “will transform campus life,” said Lindsay Kearns, vice-chair of Camosun’s board of governors, who noted enhancing student life on campus and prioritizing student housing is a goal in the college’s strategic plan.
Additional student housing has also opened in recent years at the University of Victoria, where a 398-bed student residence with dining facilities opened in September 2022, followed by a 385-bed student residence last September — a net increase of 621 beds once replacements are taken into account.
That brings the total number of beds on campus at UVic to 2,300, plus 181 family housing units, according to the university’s website.
The cost was $242.5 million, with $127.7 million coming from the province.
Other projects underway include 217 beds of student housing at North Island College at a cost of $77.9 million — with $75.9 coming from the province — and 266 beds at Vancouver Island University at a cost of $87.8 million, with $87 million coming from the province.
The Camosun complex is expected to be built with mass timber and meet LEED platinum standards.
